Childbirth Across Cultures: Ideas and Practices of Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Postpartum

Description

Childbirth Across Cultures explores the childbirth process through globally diverse perspectives to offer a broader context with which to think about birth. It addresses multiple rituals and management models surrounding the labor and birth process from communities across the globe. Labor and birth are biocultural events that are managed in countless ways. We are particularly interested in the notion of power. Who controls the pregnancy and the birth? Is it the hospital, the doctor, or the in-laws, and in which cultures does the mother have the control? These decisions, regarding place of birth, position, who receives the baby and even how the mother may or may not behave during the actual delivery are all part of the different ways that birth is handled. The cultures included range from the Solomon Islands to Africa, Asia and the Americas. Other chapters cover Midwives and other Birth Attendants, Evolution of Birth, Women’s Birth Narratives, and Child Spacing and Breastfeeding. This book will bring together global research conducted by professional anthropologists, midwives and doctors who work closely with the individuals from the cultures they are writing about, offering a unique perspective direct from the cultural group. Front Matter....Pages i-xvii Birth and the Big Bad Wolf: An Evolutionary Perspective 1 ....Pages 1-22 Breastfeeding and Child Spacing....Pages 23-32 Culturally Diverse Women Giving Birth: Their Stories....Pages 33-39 A History of Western Medicine, Labor, and Birth....Pages 41-53 Childbirth in China....Pages 55-69 Childbirth Among Hong Kong Chinese....Pages 71-76 Childbirth in Korea....Pages 77-83 Childbirth in Japan....Pages 85-94 A Sacramental Theory of Childbirth in India....Pages 95-106 Rural Midwives in South India: The Politics of Bodily Knowledge....Pages 107-122 Constructions of Birth in Bangladesh....Pages 123-135 Pregnancy and Childbirth in Nepal: Women’s Role and Decision-Making Power....Pages 137-144 Pregnancy and Childbirth in Tibet: Knowledge, Perspectives, and Practices....Pages 145-160 Nyob Nruab Hlis: Thirty Days Confinement in Hmong Culture....Pages 161-173 Pregnancy, Childbirth and Traditional Beliefs and Practices in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand....Pages 175-184 Childbirth Experience in the Negev – The Southern Region of Israel....Pages 185-193 Childbirth and Maternal Mortality in Morocco: The Role of Midwives....Pages 195-203 Childbirth in Zimbabwe....Pages 205-213 Childbirth in Nigeria....Pages 215-220 Childbirth in Tanzania: Individual, Family, Community....Pages 221-228 Culture, Pregnancy and Childbirth in Uganda: Surviving the Women’s Battle....Pages 229-234 Childbirth Experiences in Malawi....Pages 235-244 Navajo Birth: A Bridge Between the Past and the Future....Pages 245-253 Childbirth in the Mayan Communities....Pages 255-264 Converting Birth on Simbo, Western Solomon Islands....Pages 265-274 Childbirth in Australia: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women....Pages 275-286 Back Matter....Pages 287-314